The Veteran's initial 10 percent disability rating for anal fistula is being remanded due to the need to obtain outstanding private treatment records from Dr. M.G. and the Lexington Clinic.
The deciding factor: The AOJ failed to attempt to contact the Veteran regarding a request for his private medical records, which may be pertinent to his claim on appeal.
- Claimed conditions
- anal fistula
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating
- Not verified here — check the original decision
- Decision date
- November 19, 2020
- Citation
- 20074379
Veterans Law Judge
Decisions by this judge: 880 · Granted: 26% (granted or partly granted, in the indexed decisions on this site)
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Read the original VA decision (opens in a new tab) using citation 20074379.
What this means for you
A remand sends an issue back for more development, often a new examination or missing records. It does not award the benefit or decide the final outcome. The original decision explains the additional work ordered.
What you can do next
Use your own notice and decision stage. A remanded issue is not a final court-appealable denial. VA review guidance and CAVC filing instructions (U.S. federal; reviewed October 7, 2026).
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Whole decision: Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded four issues related to the Veteran's daughter, including a claim for anal fistula, right knee injury residuals, left ear hearing loss, and valvular heart disease. The decision also notes that no fiduciary was appointed on behalf of the Appellant due to her adoption.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for service connection for an anal fistula, finding that there was no evidence to support a relationship between his service-connected GERD and the development of the anal fistula. The Board also noted that the Veteran had not been diagnosed with any other conditions such as Crohn's disease or irritable bowel syndrome.
- Whole decision: Granted
The Board has granted service connection for hemorrhoids with anal fissure and fistula, finding that the Veteran's burn pit exposures likely aggravated his existing IBS-related diarrhea, which in turn caused his hemorrhoids.
- Whole decision: Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for compensation under 38 U.S.C. § 1151 for anal fistula secondary to an anal abscess, finding that the additional disability was a normal consequence of the natural progression of the disease and not caused by fault on the part of VA medical treatment.
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